And this surge came during Great Britain’s glorious summer of sport which featured the London 2012 Olympic Games.

“It is great to see that Google Maps searches bear out what we already know – that squash enthusiasm around the world includes the ‘traditional’ countries such as the UK too,” said Andrew Shelley, CEO of the World Squash Federation.

“To be placed ahead of other sports and leisure pursuits emphasises the strength and popularity of Squash in the UK. But it is also important to remember that Squash is a global sport which has spawned world champions from every continent and is played in 185 countries on over 50,000 courts – so there are a lot of answers out there!”

Squash is shortlisted alongside six other sports bidding to join the Olympic Games in 2020.